Homecoming Blues
by Dharma Bum
Summary: After a short absence Ed returns to the Bebop, but is everything as she left it? Spoilers for eps. 24-26, and taking the .0001 chance that the obvious interpretation of the end of "Real Folk Blues" is wrong. Yeah, I know, but it's a nice thought.
1. Default Chapter

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, as we all know. To repeat the warning from the blurb, spoilers for eps. 24-26 and a cheerful insouciance towards what "really" happened at the end of "Real Folk Blues".

* * *

Jet-person was mad, and Ed was afraid. She had never seen Jet-person mad like this before, not even that time she had transferred control of the Bebop into Tomato and tried to do a loop-the-loop through the Gate. Maybe this was a wrong thing, a mistake. Bad bad. She tried to pull her hand out of his, but his grip was too strong.

Ein sat beside them on the moving walkway, stub tail tucked into his rump. He whined.

Jet was not looking at Ed. He looked straight ahead and he was mad, mad. He said, "A man like that should not be allowed to have a child."

Ed looked down at the walkway. It had been a long flight to Mars, Ed and Ein all alone, and she had been so happy happy to see Jet-person when he met them at the gate but hadn't counted on him being so mad mad. The walkway rolled along under their feet, carrying her farther and farther away from the gate, farther and farther away from Earth, farther and farther away from Father-person. She felt like runningjumpingyelling, but she was carrying Tomato under one arm and Jet held her other hand firmly and she couldn't move. Running running, but to where would she run? Ickybad in her stomach. Jet-person was mad and what about Father-person? "Ed's stomach hurts," she said.

"Eh?" Jet-person looked at her, and she shrank back from the ferocity in his gaze.

"Ed's stomach hurts," she said. Jet-person very mad, scary. She started to shake. "Ed makes Jet-person mad, bad mad bad, and Ed is sorry and Ed does not understand..."

"I'm not angry at you, Ed."

"Ed not make Jet-person mad?"

"No. I'm angry at your father."

"Why? Father-person said Ed could come back to live on Bebop, happyplace funtime. Ed wants to go back to Bebop." Ed swallowed, her mouth suddently dry. "Jet-person does not want Ed to come back?"

Jet-person started to say something, stopped, said, "Ed, come here," and pulled her off the walkway. Ein yipped and jumped off to join them. Jet-person knelt down and looked Ed in the eye. "Ed. I'm very, very happy to have you come back. I'm just angry that your father hurt you."

"Ed not owies."

"I mean, your father--" He sighed. "It isn't right for him not to want to take care of you."

"Father-person said he was busy with maps. Busy busy. Here and there. Ed and Ein, nothing to do, father-person gone for long time. He says, Ed goes back to Bebop."

"Don't you want to come back to the Bebop?"

"Ed's stomach hurts." It did, hurt deep ow ow not like throwing up but like cold, like when all alone and nobody there. "Ed's eyes hurt too." They stung. Ein nosed her bare ankle and whined. "Father-person...did not want Ed."

"Ed..." Jet-person's voice was rough again, but not mad bad. Ed's vision blurred and the stinging drops fell, fell again and again, and then she was crying and it hurt ow hurt. "Father not want Ed," she wailed.

Jet put his arms around her and pulled her close, and she cried into his shirt, the steel of his prosthetic arm cold against her back. "There, there," he said, rough voice but not bad voice. "It's all right, Ed. You can come stay with me and Faye-Faye. We won't send you away. Ever."

"Ed wants to go back." She hiccuped, unable to catch her breath between sobs. "Ed wants happyplace friends again."

"Come on." Jet picked her up. "We're going home." Ein barked, running in circles.

"Go to Bebop? Ed doesn't have to go away again?"

"Never."

She curled up against Jet's chest. Sighing heavily, he carried her back to the walkway, Ein trotting briskly at his heels.

-----

The Bebop was just as Ed remembered, tied up in the same cheap slip in the stinkybad part of the harbor. She ran across the top of the ship from end to end, shrieking happily, then jumped down the hatch and ran up and down the corridor. Ein followed along bark bark. "Hi hi," sang Ed. "Hi hi Swordfish, hi hi bonsais, hi hi toilet." She ran into the main cabin and there was Faye-Faye. "Faye-Faye," Ed shrieked and threw herself at the older woman. 

Faye-Faye hugged her. "Hi, Ed. Great to have you back."

"Jet-person says Ed can stay on Bebop. Forever!"

"That's right."

Ed disentangled herself and went vaulting over the familiar worn old couch in a tangle of arms and legs. "Jet-person here, Faye-Faye here, Ein-woof-woof here, Spike-person here!" She looked behind the couch, then under it. Puzzlement. Not right. "Spike-person not here?" She looked at Faye-Faye and Jet-person, who looked at each other in the fashion of grownups and did not speak.

Ha! Something was wrong. Ed would fix it! She bounced back onto the couch. "Where is Spike-person?" She looked from face to face and then a familiar voice from behind her said, "What is all this racket? I can't stand kids. Kids and critters."

"Spike Spike!" Ed pounced.

He stumbled and almost fell over. "Hey, hey, easy there, cowgirl."

"Ed is back!" Ed announced and hugged him tightly, waiting for him to peel her off. When he didn't she looked up, curious. This was Spike-person? "Spike-person wrong thing?"

"I've been..." He looked at Jet-person and Faye-Faye and they all three did the grownup thing again. "Sick."

Ed let go and rolled back on her heels. Spike-person was all shaky and skinny and pale like the fur on Ein's belly, and he walked funny, little tiptap steps, not like Spike-person at all. He went to the couch and sat down, not all sprawled out the way he should be so that Faye-Faye would complain that he took up too much room and so Ed could jump on his stomach and make him swear. She edged closer to the couch but no jumping, no.

After a moment's silence Jet-person clapped his hands together. "Well. I'll get dinner started. I'm sure everyone's hungry." He left. Faye-Faye sat in the chair. Ed looked from Faye-Faye to wrong-Spike again. No one spoke.

Ein whined.

"Good food?" Ed asked. "Many bounties?" She hoped so, else it would be instant noodles for dinner and she was hungry yes. 

"We've kept busy," said Faye-Faye, but Spike-person didn't say anything. Ed stared at him until he answered. "I haven't been doing a lot lately," he said.

"Yes, Spike sick."

Faye-Faye got up. "I'll see if Jet needs any help in the kitchen." She left.

Ed stared at Spike-person. She got up on the table and stared at him closer. She leaned onto the couch and stared at him closer. She-- "Christ, Ed," Spike-person said, sounding like Spike-person should for the first time, "get a hobby."

Ed grinned and turned a cartwheel off the table. "Whee! Ed is back and now Ed and Spike get many bounties, bang-bang!"

Spike-person didn't say anything. Then he took out a stinkynasty cigarette and lit it. "A dead man doesn't hunt, Ed."

"Spike-person not dead."

He did the grownup thing again, but he was not looking at Ed, not looking at anything. "I think I am," he said softly.

Strange strange. Ed gave up trying to understand and unpacked Tomato. "Ed will look for bounties," she said. "Ed works for Bebop now! Cowgirl Ed!"

Spike leaned forward on the couch, resting his elbows on his knees. "Ed?"

"Hai."

"When you left--did you find what you were looking for?"

"Ed found wrong place." 

"I'm sorry."

"No, wrong place good."

"How," said Spike-person, using his old voice again, "is wrong place good?"

Grownups! Not understand, no no. She brought up the main SolNet nexus on screen, pretty pretty colors, maybe make Spike-person happy to see pretty. "See? Like hacking. Password does not work, Ed does not care. When Ed knows all wrong things, then right thing is what's left. See?"

"The right thing is what's left," Spike repeated. He took the stinkynasty and stubbed it out on the table.

"Ed thought right place was with father-person, but that was longagofaraway. Longagofaraway all gone, like Eggplant."

"Like...eggplant."

"When Ed baby, have computer Eggplant, not Tomato. No good now. Old things no good, must use new things."

Spike-person did not say anything, maybe he did not understand. "I wonder what the new things are," he said finally, talking to himself not to Ed. 

Ed folded her legs under her and watched him. "Spike-person sick but get better soon, Spike-person always get better fast."

"Yeah, well, that might be an old thing."

"Dinner," called Jet-person. He came into the room, wiping his hands on a towel.

"Beef with peppers," Spike-person said hopefully.

"No, sushi."

"Damn it, Jet, I hate sushi."

"But Ed likes it, don't you, Ed?"

Ed turned a cartwheel. "Yay! Sushi!"

"And ice cream."

"That's it." Spike-person got up. "I have officially lost my appetite."

"When it's your dinner we can have beef with peppers. This is Ed's dinner."

Ed grabbed Spike-person's hand. "Come with Ed! Sushi and ice cream good, Spike-person will see!"

Spike-person sighed loudly so that Ed would hear, silly playacting, and allowed himself to be dragged to the table.


	2. Chapter 2

Bebop happyplace yes. Ed quickly fit back into normal life on the ship, work on Tomato, play in storeroom, talk to Ein woof-woof, eat plenty food. And when the food stopped being yum yum fish and chicken and started being all noodles and rice, and the grownups started sniping at each other and talking about money all the time, that was normal too. Finally Jet-person came to Ed and asked her for a bounty list. Cowgirl Ed to the rescue!

The grownups all went on the roundup together. "You stay here," Jet-person told her. "You'll be all right by yourself? You stay here," he repeated, as if he was worried she might go away.

"Ed stays here. Ed listens for call so she can help, yes yes. Cowgirl Ed."

"Thatta girl." He patted her head awkwardly with his real hand. "We'll be right back."

Left to herself, Ed bounced on the couch for a while and then settled down to wait. When grownups came back they would be happy happy, and maybe bring her a souvenir. "We are good cowboys, yes yes," she said to Ein. "Bad guys run fast, not get away from Bebop!"

Ein barked in agreement.

After a while Ed got bored. She booted up Tomato and amused herself playing in the government's income tax database, changing numbers, surprise many people yes yes. She decided to issue refunds to everyone on Phobos who lived on a street beginning with an M, and became so engrossed in her work that the slam of the hatch opening made her jump.

Faye-Faye came stalking into the cabin, and she was mad mad. The roundup must not have gone well. Ed decided to remain very quiet, this was smart thing to do when Faye-Faye was mad, yes. Spike-person must have felt the same way because he came in behind Faye-Faye and he was not saying anything. Faye-Faye whirled around to face him and Ed saw a makeshift bandage on her upper arm, redsticky showing. "Faye-Faye hurt!"

"I'm all right, Ed. No thanks to Cowboy here."

Jet-person came in. "No one's to blame, Faye."

"No one's to blame? He could have jumped the guy! He had a clear shot and he didn't take it, he just fucking stood there!"

"He wasn't going to attack unarmed, that's completely reasonable."

"Stop sticking up for him, Jet! You!" She poked Spike-person in the chest. "Are you going to say anything for youself?" Spike-person remained silent.

"Faye..."

"The fact is, he froze, we lost the bounty, and I could have been fucking killed!" Faye-Faye whirled around and stomped out of the room, throwing back over her shoulder, "Make up your mind, goddamn it! Are you in or out?"

Spike-person looked at the floor. Jet-person said in the rough not mad voice of grownups, "She didn't mean it. She's just temperamental, you know that."

Spike-person walked to the couch and sat down. He took out a stinkynasty cigarette and lit it. "Maybe she's right," he said. "Maybe I have lost my nerve."

"No. You've lost your stupidity. We've just gotten too used to operating by you taking chances you shouldn't. Bad thing to rely on." Jet-person sighed. "I'll go see if she's calmed down, take care of that arm." He started to leave.

"Jet," said Spike-person.

Jet-person stopped. Spike-person took a long drag on the stinkynasty. "If I'm getting in the way, I ought to leave."

"Don't be stupid. I'll tell you if you can or can't leave." Jet-person left the room.

Ed eased back along the wall, then clambered up it to the ceiling. She hung by her knees from a pipe and watched upside-down Spike-person smoke, and she thought many thoughts.

-----

Jet-person stayed up late that night arguing a lot with Spike-person, well Jet-person argued but Spike-person did not say anything and Ed grew bored listening and fell asleep, so it couldn't have been a very good argument. After that the grownups did not say anything to each other for three days beyond things like "pass the salt" and "where is my underwear" and things like that, which was a silly grownup thing they did sometimes but usually only for a few hours so this was unusual yes. Ed spent most of her time with Jet-person looking at bounties. Jet-person kept looking them over and saying "Later on this one" and having Ed tag the file, but one morning there was nothing left to eat for breakfast but cold rice and Jet-person finally said, "This one will do."

"Spike-person and Faye-Faye get bounty?" Ed hinted. She wanted Jet-person to stay with her. Ed liked it when Jet-person stayed. He told her stories and sometimes played chess with her, yes yes.

"No, I'm going with Faye. Spike is going to stay here and keep you company."

Ed blinked. "Spike-person no bounty? Why not?"

Jet-person made a grownup sound, something like growlnoise Ein made. "You'll have to ask him that. We'll be back."

The adults walked to the hangar bay. Ed and Ein followed. Faye-Faye climbed into the Redtail and did not say anything to anyone, especially not to Spike-person. Jet-person paused before getting into the Hammerhead. "You sure you don't want in?" he said to Spike-person.

"I think I'd better not."

"Love to have you," Jet-person said gruffly.

"You nail this one for me, okay?" Spike-person became very busy lighting a cigarette. 

Jet-person sighed and climbed into his ship. Ein whined.

The hangar door opened and the fighters pulled away, leaving behind Spike-person and the Swordfish, poor lonely plane yes. Spike-person toggled the door closed and took a long drag on his cigarette. Ed stared at him, trying to understand. "Why doesn't Spike-person go with Jet-person and Faye-Faye?" 

Spike-person didn't answer, and Ed got annoyed. "Put out stinkynasty and talk to Ed."

"Ed, go away." He stared at the closed door.

She grabbed the stinkynasty out of his hand, and he blinked in surprise. "Tell Ed now!"

"Give me back my cigarette, Ed."

"Tell tell."

"It's a grownup thing, okay? You wouldn't understand." 

He reached for the cigarette but Ed backed away out of range. "Is it alivedead?" she said.

"Hah?"

"Spike-person says he is alivedead. Is that why no bounty?" 

Instead of answering, Spike-person leaned back against the wall and shook his head. Ed was surprised how grownup he looked, big big grownup very old. "Is Spike-person not happy on Bebop?"

"Remember what you said about finding the wrong places?"

"Hai."

"What happens when even the right place becomes wrong?"

"Bebop not wrong for Ed. Never wrong for Ed!"

Spike-person sighed, big big grownup sound. "Spike-person?" Ed said. 

He turned and walked up the corridor. 

"Spike-person, here is stinkynasty. Ed is sorry she took it. Hello?" She looked at Ein, who whined and did not tail wag wag.

-----

Time for Ed to put her plan into action. She logged onto SolNet and started searching. Spike-person lay on the couch and napped, no stories or games for Ed with Spike-person. 

For Jet-person Ed had used the ISSP's official list of bounties, but for her plan she would use hidden bounties that only Ed was smart enough to know about. Wrong places good. How to find hidden people was to look where bounties weren't. Everyone used credit chips, phones, banks, trains. Everyone left a trail. All Ed had to do was cross-reference the trails and see who was pretending to be who. The mathematics were really quite simple, categorical structures, babystuff yes yes. She pulled together a set of people who were pretending to be someone else and winnowed it down to those on Mars, then ran their assumed identities against their probable ones. Now how many of these had bounties? She ran the final sort and came up with many to choose from. So many bad people! A more specific geographic sort produced a man who was hiding out right over in Lowtown, not far no, and plenty woolongs for bounty. She pulled up his police record. Armed robbery, assault, attempted murder. He looked mean in picture. "Ed does not like you, you are nastybad," Ed said to the picture. "Ed will call you Nastybad."

She picked up Tomato and put it on the table by the couch. "Spike-person! See what Ed has!"

Spike-person blinked sleepily at her. "I'm taking a nap here, Ed."

"Ed has big bounty! Very close by, Spike-person can go get, bang-bang!"

He half-sat up, running a hand through his hair. "That's very good, Ed. As soon as Jet and Faye get back, we'll go pick him up."

"No no. Bounty is for Spike-person. Go now!"

Spike-person yawned. "He's not going anywhere."

"Go now," Ed insisted. "Spike-person bounty!"

"Knock it off, Ed, I said when Jet and Faye get back."

"Spike-person not need Jet-person and Faye-Faye. Spike-person always get bounty by himself before!"

Something went wrong in Spike-person's face, maybe Ed had said a bad thing but what was bad thing? "No, Ed. I mean it. I'll wait for Jet and Faye to get back."

"But--"

He sat up straight. "That's enough, Ed!" His voice was loudmad and Ed felt stingingtears in her eyes ow. She turned and left the room, ran down to the engine room where she could think. 

By the time she got there she was really crying, she hated stingingtears but Spike-person was so unfair and so mean! She rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes and sniffed. Ein nudged her ankle and whined. "Spike-person is meanbad," she said to Ein. "Ed is only trying to help."

Ein barked.

Ed sniffed. This was silly, crying like sillybaby. "Ed is cowgirl," she said aloud to Ein. "Ed will fix it."

Ein barked again.

"Ed has idea. Ed will get bounty for Spike-person, then he will not have to go away from Bebop and Faye-Faye and Jet-person will be happy again."

Ein barked twice, a nono bark. "No, Ein. Ed can do it. Cowgirl Ed!" The stingingtears had vanished. She raced along the corridor to the storeroom, Ein following at her heels.


	3. Chapter 3

In the main cabin Spike-person had gone back to sleep, shh shh. Ed took a piece of paper and drew happy happy faces on it and wrote

_cow girl ed big bounty happy time_

She put the note on his chest and tiptoed out of the room, her tinysteps covered by the sound of his snores, walking as quietly as possible back to the hatch. Ein followed at her heels. When she opened the door he barked.

"No, Ein. You can't come with Ed."

Ein whined.

"No. This is cowgirl thing. Not cowdog. You wait here, tell Jet-person and Faye-Faye Cowgirl Ed comes back with big bounty, bang-bang!" She shut the door carefully, trying not to hear Ein whimperwhimper on other side. Ein would have to understand, Ed had to be grownup cowgirl now and she couldn't take woof-woof with her.

She took the train to where Nastybad was. Ed had gone into the transit system's computers ahead of time and issued herself a free pass, many trains no woolongs, and a second pass to use for Nastybad when she brought him back. Ed planned ahead, yes yes! She had handcuffs to put on Nastybad and had thought of taking a gun but guns were scary, made big noises, so no gun. Ed would not need gun, she would be quickfighting cowgirl just like Spike-person.

It wasn't a long train ride to Lowtown. No one got off when Ed did, no one went to Lowtown if they could help it, no. They stayed on train to go to nicer places that did not smell bad, but Ed was a cowgirl with a mission, wandering down dark streets yes yes, even if those streets smelled like pee yuck. She practiced her walk, refining it in the ten blocks from the station, walk like cowgirl on TV, like Spike-person used to walk. Dangerous Cowgirl Ed! There were many people on the street, but they were Lowtown people and did not look at her, no, they did not look at anything but hurried on past one another. There were no police cars anywhere. The sidewalk was strewn with broken glass and nastier things, and she almost wished she was wearing shoes. When she came to Nastybad's building she paused on the sidewalk, rubbing each dirty foot on the other in turn, and wondered why her stomach twitched.

No. She had to be brave cowgirl. She walked up the steps and into the building. It smelled even nastier than the rest of Lowtown and there were ickythings in the corners that ran away when she approached. They were scared of Ed, they should be, she was brave cowgirl yes! She climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and walked to Nastybad's door. Her stomach did flipflops. She took a deep breath and told it to stop. Cowgirl Ed! She rapped smartly on the door. 

No answer. She knocked again, louder.

"Gimme a goddam minute," said a voice from behind the door. There was the sound of bolts being fumbled with and then the door opened. It was Nastybad, and he was even more nastybad in person than in picture. He also smelled icky.

"Hi hi, Nastybad-person."

"Who the fuck are you?"

"Cowgirl Ed!"

"What?"

"You come with Ed, Ed gets big bounty."

"Get lost, kid." He started to shut the door but Ed ducked through it and into the dirty little room. "Come with Ed," she said.

"I said get out of here!"

Ed held out the handcuffs. "Put on handcuffs," she said. When he did not she tried to put them on herself but he smacked them out of her hands. 

Ed was getting mad mad. "Stop that. Come with Ed now!"

"Crazy kid, get out of here." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door.

"Let go of Ed!" she demanded. He did not and Ed was mad mad mad! She bit him.

Nastybad yelped but didn't let go. "You little shit!" He swung at her with his other hand, swung hard and fast and smacked her in the face.

It _hurt_.

Ed screamed. It _hurt_, really bad. Nastybad still had her wrist and he dragged her closer to him, and that hurt too. No one ever hurt Ed, never never, and she was _scared_. "I'm gonna--"

There was a shot.

Nastybad froze. Ed looked around and Spike-person stood in the doorway, gun pointed in the air, and he was mad mad. He said, "You touch her again and you're dead. Now--" he lowered the gun and pointed it at Nastybad-- "let her go."

Instead Nastybad yanked Ed toward him, twisting her arm up and around behind her back ow ow, and his other hand grabbed Ed's chin and pulled her head back. Ed was scared, so scared. "I got a better idea," Nastybad said. "You put the gun down and maybe I won't twist her fucking head off. Or you can shoot and maybe you'll hit me and miss her. Maybe."

Spike-person stood very still. Ed was whimpering, she knew she shouldn't but she couldn't stop. Nastybad pulled up hard on her chin and she shrieked again, like a baby but it hurt. "What's it gonna be, cowboy?"

Spike-person slowly lowered the gun and tossed it to the floor in front of him. "Kick it over here," said Nastybad and Spike-person did so, the gun sliding to a stop by Ed's foot. Ed couldn't breathe.

Nastybad threw Ed aside. He picked up the gun and he held it up and he shot it at Spike-person.

Spike-person wasn't there.

Spike-person moved fast, fast, and before Nastybad could fire again Spike-person grabbed his arm. There was a loud snap and Nastybad screamed, like Ed had, and he dropped the gun and it skittered across the floor. Ed scrambled after it on all fours. "Ed has gun!" she announced.

Spike-person wasn't listening. He was hitting Nastybad. A lot. "Spike Spike!" Ed yelled. "Ed has gun! Come take gun!"

Nastybad fell down on floor and Spike-person still hit him. The gun was scary. Ed didn't want it. "Come take gun," she said again. "Please?"

Spike-person gave Nastybad one final kick, then stopped. He leaned over, hands on his thighs, breathing heavily. "Ed," he said.

"Hai."

"This son of a--" He picked the discarded handcuffs up and put them on Nastybad. "Did he hurt you?"

Ed dropped the scarygun. She ran across the room and wrapped herself around Spike-person's waist, hugging him tightly. "Ed not hurt. Ed so scared!"

"Yeah. I know, kid." He patted her.

"Spike-person not hurt?"

"Spike-per...uh, I'm fine. It's okay now, Ed. We can...Ed? You can let go now."

Ed looked up at him, blinking away stingingtears. "Ed was worried about Spike-person."

Spike-person's face twitched. "_You_ were worried about _me_?"

"Spike-person needs bounty so can stay on Bebop with happyfriends. Ed thought she would get bounty, then Spike-person not have to go away."

"Ed..."

"Ed does not want Spike-person to go away. Ed wants Spike-person to stay, and get many bounties, and not be alivedead anymore."

"Why, you little..." Spike-person made a fist and rubbed his knuckles in Ed's hair, ow good ow. Grownups were weird. "Ed, listen. My job is bounties. Your job is hacking. Promise me you'll stick to it, okay?"

"Spike-person no more alivedead." He didn't answer, and Ed shook him a bit. "Promise to Ed!"

"Okay." He held up both hands in surrender. "Okay. I promise." Ed's heart bounced in her chest, happy happy. "Besides," he said, "who would take care of you then?"

"Ha, silly silly! It is Ed who takes care of Spike-person and Bebop!" She let go and turned cartwheels in a circle around Spike-person and around Nastybad bounty, big bounty, Jet-person and Faye-Faye would be very happy happy, yes!

Spike-person put his head in his hands, sillyplayacting. "I will regret this," he said loudly so that Ed could hear, but she laughed and ignored him.

_-----_

"The dog told you where she was," Jet-person repeated.

"The dog," Spike-person said. "I asked the dog where she was and he pushed a button on that Pumpkin contraption with his nose and the bounty came up on the screen."

"Not Pumpkin," Ed said firmly. "Tomato!"

"Whatever."

"Ed," said Faye-Faye, "that was very foolish. You're never to do anything like that again, do you hear me?"

"Cowgirl Ed! Whee!"

"Cowgirl Ed my ass, if you try anything like that again you'll be grounded until you're fifty."

Ed laughed. Grownups always worried over nothing. "Ed and Spike-person get many bounties now, bang-bang!" Everything was happyfine, Jet-person was here and Faye-Faye was here and Spike-person was here, sprawled out on the couch in the right way, the way Spike-person always sat on couch and Faye-Faye would say that he took up too much of it and then Ed could jump on his stomach and make him swear. Good idea yes yes!

"OW! Fuck--Ed, would you NOT do that!"

Ed easily ducked the return cuff that was not intended to land and scurried up the wall to the ductwork, from where she waved to Spike-person. He flipped her the bird. 

"I suppose you think just because you get one collar you can take up the whole couch," Faye-Faye said. "Move over." She plopped herself down next to Spike-person and shoved him away. Ein jumped up and lay between them.

"Children," Jet-person said mildly. "Ed, what should we have for supper? You call."

Ed got to pick! Sushi! Ice cream! She thought about it for a second . "Beef with green peppers," she said.

Jet-person blinked. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Ed is sure." She hung by her knees. "Beef with peppers," she said again and grinned at Spike-person. He looked up at her and grinned back, long slow Spike-person grin, old things gone, new things good and here to stay, yes yes.


End file.
